Bulgaria's EU Association Agreement came into
effect in 1994, and Bulgaria formally applied for full EU
membership in December 1995. During the 1999 EU summit in Helsinki, the country was
invited to start membership talks with the Union. On January 1,
2007 Bulgaria officially became a member of the European Union. In
1996, Bulgaria acceded to the Wassenaar Arrangement controlling
exports of weapons and sensitive technology to countries of concern
and also was admitted to the World Trade Organization.
Bulgaria is a member of the Zangger Committee and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. After
a period of equivocation under a socialist government, in March
1997 a UDF-led caretaker
cabinet applied for full NATO
membership, which became a reality in April 2004.

Bulgaria and the United States signed a Defense
Cooperation Agreement in 2006 providing for military bases and
training camps of the U.S. Army in Bulgaria, as part of the
Pentagon's restructuring plan.

NATO

Bulgaria joined NATO's Partnership for Peace in 1994 and
applied for NATO membership in 1997. During the November 2002 Prague Summit Bulgaria was one of
seven former socialist countries invited to join the Alliance.
Bulgaria became a member of NATO in April 2004. The country is also
working toward NATO compatibility in communications and training,
and has established a Peacekeeping Training Center.

UN

In 2003, Bulgaria was elected as a non-permanent member of the
UN Security Council, proving to be one of 3
closest U.S.
allies during the Iraqi Crisis,
together with the UK and Spain. Bulgaria also presided the OSCE
in 2004.

Relations between Greece
(the Hellenic Republic) and Bulgaria (the Republic of Bulgaria) have been
very cordial since the 1950s, preceded in the earlier 20th century
by periods of intense mutual hostility. Since Bulgaria's
independence in 1908, Greece and Bulgaria faced each other in three
major wars: the Second Balkan War, the First World War and the
Second World
War, in which Bulgaria briefly occupied parts of northern
Greece.

Bulgaria was among the States that recognized Indonesia's
independence since its Proclamation of Independence on August 17,
1945. The two countries established diplomatic relations on
September 21, 1956. Bulgaria has had an embassy in Jakarta since October 1958 and
Indonesia has had an embassy in Sofia Since 1960.[39]

Bulgarian relations with Romania featured regular official
visits by the two presidents. Romanian-Bulgarian relations are
developing "very intensively" because of EU accession, since
Romania and Bulgaria joined together the European Union in 2007.
Romania and Bulgaria have never had any serious conflicts, other
than a territorial dispute over the Dobruja region in 1913-1940,
now largely forgotten. Vidin and Calafat have perhaps the closest
relations of any towns along this lower section of the Danube.
There is a regular ferry service, so locals here have regular
interchange with their neighbors across the border.

In 1967, Bulgaria sent the first Bulgarian ambassador to Khartoum. The activities of
the Bulgarian embassy in Khartoum were terminated in April 1990,
and later reestablished in March, 2005. In 2006 the General
Consulate of the Sudan, in Sofia, Bulgaria has been upgraded to the rank of
embassy.[94]

Bulgaria has an embassy in Tashkent.[109]
Uzbekistan is represented in Bulgaria through a non resident
ambassador based in Tashkent (in the Foreign Ministry.)[110]
Bulgaria provides a link in the trade corridor between Uzbekistan
and the European
Union, with important Black Sea ports. The two countries are
interested in expanding trade by this route.[111]
However, despite repeated discussions on the subject, Uzbekistan
has so far declined to supply natural gas to the Nabucco
pipeline, which, if built, would feed gas to Europe via
Bulgaria.[112]

Bulgarian-American relations, first formally established in
1903, have moved from missionary activity and American support
for Bulgarian independence
in the late 19th century to the growth of trade and commerce in the
early 20th century, to reluctant hostility during World War I and
open war and bombardment in World War II, to ideological
confrontation during the Cold War, to partnership with the United
States in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
and growing political, military and economic ties in the beginning
of the 21st century.